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Firstlinks

Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 350

We have reached a critical moment in the coronavirus fight, and this edition brings some heavy-hitting opinions from Warwick McKibbin, Christopher Joye and Rob Arnott, plus three other articles on implications. The next two weeks will deliver a major moment in history when President Donald Trump decides whether to ignore medical advice and lessons from other countries.

Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 346

It is times such as this outbreak of coronavirus which test whether a portfolio is properly positioned for a person's risk appetite. A major hurdle to investor success is the urge to do something in reaction to news, especially as market experts are issuing lists of companies which will suffer from the lower activity caused by the virus. We don't yet know how widespread and sustained it will be, and investors take a risk selling out of high-quality companies and then not investing again. The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index fell almost 10% last week and the S&P500 is 12% down from recent highs. Consider how investors jumped out of Apple years ago when a quarterly sales figure did not quite meet target.

Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 344

There's always more happening in money markets than most people realise, with significant implications for investors and borrowers. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) injects or withdraws billions of dollars into the financial system each week to manage liquidity. In cash markets, the RBA is currently providing plenty of stimulus and banks are funding loans easily.

Interview Series eBook, investing insights from global experts

30 interviews from 2013 to 2019, from global experts such as Markowitz, Malkiel, Dimson and Merton, to local fund managers sharing the secrets and lessons for investment success in 2020. 

Firstlinks Interview Series 2013-2019

30 interviews from 2013 to 2019, from global experts such as Markowitz, Malkiel, Dimson and Merton, to local fund managers sharing the secrets and lessons for investment success in 2020.

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Latest Updates

Economy

Why have Australian living standards 'fallen' and how do we fix it?

For the last few years there has been much talk of a 'cost-of-living' crisis in Australia and of 'falling living standards'. Lately this has flared up again with the pickup in inflation resulting in a renewed fall in real wages.

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Four options for an income investor’s next dollar

What if Australia’s golden age of dividends is ending? Rather than overhaul your portfolio, it may be worth considering where new capital can work harder. I discuss four income strategies and the trade-offs behind each.

Taxation

Completing the reform of CGT: tax real losses like real gains

Recent CGT reforms tax real gains by indexing capital gains to inflation. However, the reform fails to index losses, leading to higher tax on assets that do not keep pace with inflation, creating inefficiencies in the tax system.

Investment strategies

Blockbuster AI debt issuance coming to a bond market near you

With Australia likely to attract a growing share of AI-related issuance, investors should prepare for increasing influence from AI funding demands, evolving credit fundamentals and changing valuation dynamics.

Investment strategies

Active managers: Bringing a gun to the gunfight

When data arrived, basketball abandoned the mid-range shot, Formula 1 reinvented the pit stop and chess embraced humans working with machines. Active managers confronting today's markets may learn from the same path.

Retirement

What Australian super funds can learn from the UK

Most people want answers to three retirement questions: What have I got? Is it enough? What can I do with it? A leading UK pension innovator shares his lessons on helping members better understand and prepare for retirement.

Investment strategies

What the market may be missing in FY27

We asked ten fund managers the same question following FY26. While their investment styles differ dramatically, their answers revealed several surprising areas of agreement about where markets may be heading next.

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